[Frihed89]

Are there any pics of the inside of this amp on the net?  I am curious about that.
 
I heard the amp myself, twice, so I have no doubts that it's real.  But close by on this site, there is a much longer thread on the Balancing Act, and again I wonder why the ZDT hasn't gotten a little more attention?  I have never heard the BA.  I also heard the Woo5 (another a 300B SET) a few minutes before after the ZDT, but that didn't too much for me (compared to the ZDT), which surprised me because my 8W 300B SET speaker amp is by far my favorite (among my speaker amps).  In fact, when i heard the ZDT compared to the Woo amp, it reminded me of the difference between a 300B SET and a 2A3 SET, with the ZDT sounding more 2A3ish (only it also had more "grip" than the Woo).
 
So much for strained analogies. 
 
I just wish there were more people writing about this amp (but i am happy you all are enjoying the music so much, believe me).

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Are there any pics of the inside of this amp on the net?  I am curious about that.
 
I heard the amp myself, twice, so I have no doubts that it's real.  But close by on this site, there is a much longer thread on the Balancing Act, and again I wonder why the ZDT hasn't gotten a little more attention?  I have never heard the BA.  I also heard the Woo5 (another a 300B SET) a few minutes before after the ZDT, but that didn't too much for me (compared to the ZDT), which surprised me because my 8W 300B SET speaker amp is by far my favorite (among my speaker amps).  In fact, when i heard the ZDT compared to the Woo amp, it reminded me of the difference between a 300B SET and a 2A3 SET, with the ZDT sounding more 2A3ish (only it also had more "grip" than the Woo).
 
So much for strained analogies. 
 
I just wish there were more people writing about this amp (but i am happy you all are enjoying the music so much, believe me).

 
Some terrible iPhone photos. Wiring seems to be on a similar level to that of the BA photos we've seen.  Not as pretty as Woo, but I've had "experts" look at the photos and they feel that it's done right.

 

 

 

[Frihed89]

Thanks very much.  It's a little hard to track the wires, but I'll blow these up and see what i can see.

 

[kiertijai]

Dear Larry,
    I recently owned the ZDT and heard that it can drive the AKG K1000, can you do that by using the 4 pin XLR or by the speaker terminal adapter?
   If it is better with the speaker terminal adapter, from where should i get one?
   If I would like to upgrade the tubes, which one would you recommend? and from where?   Should I try to get the Russian tube to keep it as a stock?
   I am now using the ZDT with great result with HE6, do you have any recommendation of the recable of the HE6, I also have Sennheiser HD800 and used
Twag as the recable but I found that the sound became thin and less bass, what type of recable should I consider?   I can reterminate the Twag for
another use.
    I have heard other modification of the ZDT including fuse change, change of umbilical cord or cryotreated, does it really work?
Thanks

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Dear Larry,


    I recently owned the ZDT and heard that it can drive the AKG K1000, can you do that by using the 4 pin XLR or by the speaker terminal adapter?


   If it is better with the speaker terminal adapter, from where should i get one?


   If I would like to upgrade the tubes, which one would you recommend? and from where?   Should I try to get the Russian tube to keep it as a stock?


   I am now using the ZDT with great result with HE6, do you have any recommendation of the recable of the HE6, I also have Sennheiser HD800 and used


Twag as the recable but I found that the sound became thin and less bass, what type of recable should I consider?   I can reterminate the Twag for


another use.


    I have heard other modification of the ZDT including fuse change, change of umbilical cord or cryotreated, does it really work?


Thanks

I can't answer all of those, but can answer some.

The ZDT 4-pin has the same power and sound as the speaker outputs, so there is no benefit from using the speaker out for K1000. Stick with a 12AX7 tube for K1000 because a 5751 has less gain/power. I don't know what other 6c33c tubes you could use. I still need to buy some spares. Don't reachable the HE-6, just use them. My ZDT is not modded.

 

[dasmodul]

I have one of these beautiful amps. I have mine paired with a Moon-Audio re-cabled, balanced Beyerdynamic T1 and the sound is exceptional. I've also tried my Ultrasone Pro900s (SE) on them and the power and bass was through the roof. At about 9 oclock the Pro 900s get as loud as you can probably take.

 

[mill999red]

Craig is building me a ZDT and I will hook up the HE-5LE to the speaker posts.  James from Stephan ArtAudio is making the Endorphin cable.  I love this thread...

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Craig is building me a ZDT and I will hook up the HE-5LE to the speaker posts.  James from Stephan ArtAudio is making the Endorphin cable.  I love this thread...

 
I have tried K10000 and HE-6 headphones on my ZDT via the speaker binding posts and the 4-pin XLR, and the two outputs sound the same and achieve the same max volume levels too.  
 
Although I bought mine Summer 2009, I just sent mine back 2 weeks ago for the partial silver transformer upgrade, so I'm looking forward to hearing any improvements when I get it back.  

 

[mill999red]

thanks....I ordered my ZDT with the silver transformer option.  Can't wait
 
BTW - where in Colorado are you?  I am in Evergreen

 

[mill999red]

ZDT with silver transformers #14, Svetlana 1960's NOS 6C33C-B tubes, 12AX7 Telefunken smoothplate, and Mapleshade threaded heavyfeet

 

[BournePerfect]

What's the purpose of the silver transformers-cosmetic only? Sorry for my ignorance...
 
-Daniel

 

[recstar24]

What's the purpose of the silver transformers-cosmetic only? Sorry for my ignorance...
 
-Daniel

There is a sonic difference. Many believe it offers better detail and resolution. That is what I heard with the BA in comparison to craigs older amps that used traditional output transformers.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

There is definitely a sonic improvement after I did the partial silver transformer upgrade, especially in micro-detail, clarity and depth I can hear into the music. But it's also improved the speed and snap with my HiFiMan HE-6 headphones, and improved the clarity with my LCD-2 which used to sound a little dark with the ZDT. I had a longer post but it was lost and I just can't retype the whole thing again.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

There is definitely a sonic improvement after I did the partial silver transformer upgrade, especially in micro-detail, clarity and depth I can hear into the music. But it's also improved the speed and snap with my HiFiMan HE-6 headphones, and improved the clarity with my LCD-2 which used to sound a little dark with the ZDT. I had a longer post but it was lost and I just can't retype the whole thing again.

Larry, do you consider it a free upgrade?  As in it doesn't compromise any other part of the spectrum?  I know it's not free on your wallet.  
 

 

[BournePerfect]

Thanks for the imressions guys. As usual Larry, you always seem to be the most helpful guy on head-fi, THANKS!
Just when I have been set on this amp for my AD2000s, I started looking at the whole Decware lineup-which has me highly intrigued, especially since I will be buying their HDT'd down the line, and am lusting over a complete Decware setup. Only problem is, none of their amps or preamps seem to be a perfect match for these AT's like the Zana is. FWIW, I'd probably be looking at the CSP2+ headphone amp/preamp feeding either a Mini Torii or Zen Torii in the speaker setup. I hate this hobby
 
If ANYONE has impressions of the CSP2+ (not regular CSP2) paired with AT or Grado's-please chime in, thanks!!
 
-Daniel